December 22, 2008

Obama's Education Pick Failed Special Education

From a Report by Access Living (Dec. 22, 2008):

Arne Duncan and student outcomes in the Chicago Public Schools

On December 16, 2008, President Elect Obama introduced Arne
Duncan, CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, as the Secretary of Education
designate.Locally, and nationwide,
Duncan has earned a reputation as a school reformer in the area of general
education.

Since 2001, when
Duncan’s tenure began, CPS has:

Increased
the percent of elementary school students reading at or above the
national norms by 3 percentage points to 43.2 percent. Reading scores
increased in 72% of all elementary schools.

Increased
the percent of elementary school students performing at or above the
national norms in math by 3.8 percentage points to 46.9 percent. Math
scores increased in 74% of all elementary schools.

Increased
the percentage of students meeting State Standards, from 38.3% in the
2000-2001 school year, to 65.2% in the 2007-2008 school year.

Started
the Renaissance Schools initiative, including opening numerous new
schools under an educational concept that has sought to serve as the
model for replacing failing schools.

With regards to the 53,000 students with
disabilities attending Chicago Public Schools, during Duncan’s tenure:

oFrom FY 09 through FY 2012, CPS has
committed $23 million per year of Capital Project Funds for Americans with
Disabilities Act projects. These projects will make numerous previously
non-accessible schools available for students with disabilities, and will allow
some students, who would have been bused long distances, to attend schools in
their own communities.

oIn November 2008, Access Living issued a
report based on the survey data[i] collected
by CPS Staff for former CPS Students with disabilities.The survey data indicated that, of those CPS
students with disabilities who allegedly went directly into the workforce after
dropping out or graduating, 67.5% were unemployed.

oOnly 1.9% of former CPS students with
disabilities surveyed were enrolled in a four year college one full year after
graduation.Based on national longitudinal
analysis, about 16% of students with disabilities gain a Bachelor’s degree, 6%
get an Associates Degree, and about another 19% gain a certificate of any type
five years after graduation.[ii]

oIn 2006, Duncan proposed to cut $26.5 million
from the CPS FY 07 Special Education Budget.If the cuts had been implemented, an estimated 200 special education
teachers and 750 special education aides would have been laid off.The $26 million would have been nearly 50% of
the total cuts to the CPS budget for fiscal year 2007.Students with disabilities represent less
than 20% of the overall CPS Student Body.After critical response from the Chicago disability community, Duncan
restored nearly half the $26 million in cuts.

oIn 1997, the CPS entered into the Corey H Settlement Agreement, under
which CPS agreed to place students with disabilities in the least restrictive
environment. The Seventh Circuit ruled
to extend the settlement agreement until 2010.
During his tenure as CEO, Duncan appealed the extension of the settlement.The Court of Appeals rejected the
appeal.

oThe gap in reading performance between CPS
students who were disabled and non-disabled grew consistently between 2001 and
2006 at most grade levels.[iii]
For the subgroup of students with disabilities, progress is required to be
measured under NCLB by the extent they close the achievement gap with their
non-disabled peers.[iv] (see
chart)

Performance Gap in
Reading grades 3, 5, 8, and 11

While Duncan earned a reputation as an innovator with CPS,
several of the points listed above indicate that outcomes for the 53,000
students with disabilities in Chicago have lagged behind.As Secretary of Education for the United
States, Duncan would have the opportunity to dramatically impact outcomes for
students with and without disabilities throughout the nation.Access Living urges Duncan, the Department of
Education and the Obama Administration to adopt and support policies and
programs that enable all students to have equal access to opportunities in
education. With regards to students with disabilities, Access Living urges the
Obama Administration to implement the goals listed below.These goals come from a coalition of consumer
controlled disability groups that have developed recommendations for the new
administration:

·Fully
Fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure the
rights of students with disabilities to a free and appropriate public education
in the least restrictive setting and the development of effective, innovative
special education programs based on the needs and issues of students with
disabilities.

·Protect students with disabilities from
school abuse, including electroshock and aversive therapies.Require schools to enforce federal laws that
protect people with disabilities from abuse in institutional and treatment
settings.

·Expand and enhance the commitment to funding,
effective monitoring and enforcement of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

·Integrate the re-authorization of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and IDEA so they are
accountability-focused, research-drivenand advance opportunities for
students with disabilities.

·Improve Student Transition: Work to
create mechanisms and opportunities that allow students with disabilities to
pursue higher education and a direct transition to work, and eliminate barriers
that prevent students with disabilities from higher education and employment.

Chicago’s only center for independent living, Access Living
is a cross disability organization, nationally recognized as a leader in the
field of independent living and a premier local provider of services for people
with disabilities.As an advocate on behalf of students with
disabilities in Chicago, Access Living has a long history of working on behalf
of students in the Chicago Public Schools.For more information, contact Gary Arnold at
312.640.2199 (voice), 312.640.2102 (TTY); or Rodney Estvan at 312-640-2149
(voice).

[i]
Estvan, R. D. (November 2008) “Post Secondary Outcomes For Chicago Public
School Students with Disabilities” Access Living Chicago Illinois.

5 Comments

The national disabled community should be using this window of opportunity to be heard about equal access reform. We can share the media spot light (under the microscope) on the designate Secretary of Education to alter the media on what concerns we have about Arne Duncan representing disabled students and what equal access reform we expect him to implement as the new Secretary of Education. Especially since President Elect Barack Obama has promised a ‘comprehensive agenda to empower individuals with disabilities to fits in with equalizing opportunities for all Americans, to reclaim America's global leadership on this issue by becoming a signatory to -- and having the Senate ratify -- the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”. His promise includes a four-part plan designed to provide lifelong supports and resources to Americans with disabilities. The first part is the most important faucet to achieve equality, because of significant failure in four-year Universities is as follows:

“First, provide Americans with disabilities with the educational opportunities they need to succeed.

Second, end discrimination and promote equal opportunity.

Third, increase the employment rate of workers with disabilities.

And fourth, support independent, community-based living for Americans with disabilities.”

Elisabeth Doyle, an international law attorney states,

“There is no emphasis on vocational training here in the U.S. under the law and it’s very difficult to talk seriously about raising levels of people with disabilities in the workforce when we’re not also talking about vocational training and education”.

Sadly, it seems some school “faculty and staff members believe students who use accommodations are not being held to the same rigorous academic standards as their peers. Although that has never been the purpose of accommodations, the ‘perception’ of the reduction of academic standards exists, and ‘hurts’ students with disabilities”. Emphasis Added.

President Elect Obama supported the passing of the new ADA Amendment Act (ADAAA), which will take affect January 1, 2009. Nevertheless, we should have great concerns with the regulatory agencies enforcing these new disability anti-discrimination laws, since they seem to have an overwhelming national backlog of pending discrimination and retaliation cases.

In a recent telephone conversation with Tom Webb, at the Higher Education Government Accountability Committee Office, he confirmed the serious problems with the U.S. Department of Education backlog of discrimination cases that extended well over a years before they are investigated, if at all. He also announced there is some major housecleaning underway at the U.S. Department of Education. As a result, we should see some marked changes in the next few months.

Nevertheless, the U.S. Department of Education, Department of Justice and other governmental agencies were all opposed to the new ADA Amendment Act that also amended the Rehabilitation Act. Therefore, in order to accomplish President Elect first step,

“Provide Americans with disabilities with the educational opportunities they need to succeed”,

we must hold designate Arne Duncan Secretary of Education and all other in the regulatory agency law enforcement position accountable to enforce equal access reform. If not, it does not matter how many new laws are passed (i.e. new ADA Amendment Act, amended Rehabilitation Act, Higher Education Opportunity Act, etc.), if none of the regulatory agencies will properly enforce Civil Rights laws to protect the disabled students. Therefore, we need an independent watchdog regulatory agency in America to protect the disabled community and implement equal access. reform.equalaccessreform.com

The national disabled community should be using this window of opportunity to be heard about equal access reform. We can share the media spot light (under the microscope) on the designate Secretary of Education to alter the media on what concerns we have about Arne Duncan representing disabled students and what equal access reform we expect him to implement as the new Secretary of Education. Especially since President Elect Barack Obama has promised a ‘comprehensive agenda to empower individuals with disabilities to fits in with equalizing opportunities for all Americans, to reclaim America's global leadership on this issue by becoming a signatory to -- and having the Senate ratify -- the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”. His promise includes a four-part plan designed to provide lifelong supports and resources to Americans with disabilities. The first part is the most important faucet to achieve equality, because of significant failure in four-year Universities is as follows:

“First, provide Americans with disabilities with the educational opportunities they need to succeed.

Second, end discrimination and promote equal opportunity.

Third, increase the employment rate of workers with disabilities.

And fourth, support independent, community-based living for Americans with disabilities.”

Elisabeth Doyle, an international law attorney states,

“There is no emphasis on vocational training here in the U.S. under the law and it’s very difficult to talk seriously about raising levels of people with disabilities in the workforce when we’re not also talking about vocational training and education”.

Sadly, it seems some school “faculty and staff members believe students who use accommodations are not being held to the same rigorous academic standards as their peers. Although that has never been the purpose of accommodations, the ‘perception’ of the reduction of academic standards exists, and ‘hurts’ students with disabilities”. Emphasis Added.

President Elect Obama supported the passing of the new ADA Amendment Act (ADAAA), which will take affect January 1, 2009. Nevertheless, we should have great concerns with the regulatory agencies enforcing these new disability anti-discrimination laws, since they seem to have an overwhelming national backlog of pending discrimination and retaliation cases.

In a recent telephone conversation with Tom Webb, at the Higher Education Government Accountability Committee Office, he confirmed the serious problems with the U.S. Department of Education backlog of discrimination cases that extended well over a years before they are investigated, if at all. He also announced there is some major housecleaning underway at the U.S. Department of Education. As a result, we should see some marked changes in the next few months.

Nevertheless, the U.S. Department of Education, Department of Justice and other governmental agencies were all opposed to the new ADA Amendment Act that also amended the Rehabilitation Act. Therefore, in order to accomplish President Elect first step,

“Provide Americans with disabilities with the educational opportunities they need to succeed”,

we must hold designate Arne Duncan Secretary of Education and all other in the regulatory agency law enforcement position accountable to enforce equal access reform. If not, it does not matter how many new laws are passed (i.e. new ADA Amendment Act, amended Rehabilitation Act, Higher Education Opportunity Act, etc.), if none of the regulatory agencies will properly enforce Civil Rights laws to protect the disabled students. Therefore, we need an independent watchdog regulatory agency in America to protect the disabled community and implement equal access reform.

Happy New Year, especially since the ADA Amendment Act (ADAAA) that amends the Rehabilitation Act came into affect today.

We do have practical solutions to significantly boost the economy, increase tax revenues, and reduce the number of recipients on Social Security Disability, Welfare, MediCal and Medicare, which would stimulate the economy and reduce our nations deficit. However, “there is no emphasis on vocational training here in the U.S. under the law and it’s very difficult to talk seriously about raising levels of people with disabilities in the workforce when we’re not also talking about vocational training and education” Elisabeth Doyle Esq. declares. This is exactly why the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services are awarding four million dollars to improve policies and practices, and public benefits, which would increase equal access to qualified disabled students to “provide Americans with disabilities with the educational opportunities they need to succeed. Second, end discrimination and promote equal opportunity. Third, increase the employment rate of workers with disabilities. Fourth, support independent, community-based living for Americans with disabilities.” and why I have created Equal Access Reform http://www.equalaccessreform.com/ to help all disabled students nationally achieve equal access.

Lastly, Colleges and Universities need to recognize the important aspects of providing the needed “effective’ accommodations to the disabled students or even moving towards Universal Design, which provides additional opportunity of equality to not only disabled students, but also all minorities and non-disabled students, reducing the need for individual accommodations and services.

Does the Education Rendered Comport with the IEP? Author: Anne M. Zachry

In special education, the implementing regulations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) establish the basic framework of how the process is supposed to work, but it’s the case law that comes from due process cases and their appeals that refine the use of some terms in many cases. Often, the case law summarizes bits and pieces of the regulations taken from different legal citations to arrive at the formal definition of a particular term, such as the definition of a Free and Appropriate Public Education (“FAPE”). Read the rest of this entry »http://www.kps4parents.org/blog/

Frankie Mastrangelo is the moderator for both the Justice For All (JFA) national email listerv as well as for the JFActivist blog. She is also an organizer for the American Association of People with Disabilities in Washington, D.C.